Come and Drink your Fill
Like fine wine
it is those writers
I've tasted as they've aged here
growing in potency
aged authenticity
intoxicating
I sip most frequently:
@JimLamb for comfort and wisdom
@Huckleberry_Hoo for his unapologetic warmth
@Harry_Situation when I want to be challenged
@rlove327 for scholarly mastery
@Undermeyou for aching passion
@SharondaBriggs who's honesty tears me apart
@Lexicon whose light, love and faith are constant
@Mnezz so kind and open sharing her world
@dctezcan writing from her life with delicacy and depth
@estherflowers1 possessing wit, rhyme and humor cannot be matched
@WhiteWolfe32 with lush poetry and prose
@mazzmyrrheyes whose name says it all
@Batmaninwuhan who never fails to make me smile
@fudo so supportive yet ever deleting his work
not to leave out the newer harvest:
@Bogdan Dragos
@AlisonAudrey
@MAC1
@MeeJong
@AnnFan14
all unique, all worth a taste.
A toast to all!
Red, White and Bruised
I can no longer hear fireworks
without looking for a mass shooter in our midst.
I can no longer enjoy singing the old songs
without self-censorship of the lyrics.
I can not feel pride
without being shamed.
I can do nothing
without offending someone
more willing
to yell fire and burn me to the ground
because they can.
Just One Purpose
Pain
the voice that screams
no
to whatever
is happening in that moment.
Protection to stop
mind
body
spirit
and step back
away
from doing further harm.
You can not ignore it
it will never recede from its duty
you can not wait it out
it has no other mission
you can not embrace it
hoping to transform it
it serves
just one purpose
not to destroy you
but
to keep you from destruction.
Lessons from a Passing Carnival
A tiger in a cage
pacing toward a memory
its paws had never known
as
the town folk jostle each other
excited to get a glimpse
of something so wild and rare.
A breeze
parts the stench of corn dogs
and livestock born to be devoured
the tiger's nostrils flare
to breathe free for a moment
the fragrance of sun drenched fields beyond
in naive recognition
a balloon handed child
steps close to the sad yellow eyes
whispering through blue snow coned lips
"If I am brave enough
to put my hand up to the bars
the kitty will come over
press its head to my palm."
there is only this
you touch me
slow
as the flow
of ketchup building
to that lush crimson tangy sweet splash
from its bottle
my flesh
waits
checkered in frosty sizzle
smoking
eyelashes whelming swat away
everything
else
there is only this.
Equality exists.
We each are given a lifetime
and a purpose
that we and only we can accomplish
in this universe of humanity
because of
our uniqueness
It is not a contest
or a race
everyone has the unfair advantage individuality.
It is just you
and the hundred million billion humans
before after and besides you
fairly equality
simply
choosing
to complete their mission
in the time allowed them
or not.
STEM Worship
I lived
in a world
where everything above of natural
a nightly miracle of intentional placement
then came Sputnik
so large
that at a small town rodeo
the broncos spotted
when the announcer pointed it out to the crowd
and we watched it pass.
Now we've become dependent
on the over 100,000 orbiting junk
trash obsolete from the moment it was launched
arguably
even those obstruction still sending signals
clogging our perceptions
making us stupid helpless unable to communicate
with our fellow man
so much
the opposite of those lost majestically pristine skies.
Trash above, below, within
is not a question
just the universal pollution of
science technology engineering mathematics
worship.
God Save the Queen
No one has empathy for the Queen.
They ought to.
She didn't ask for this
never imagined it would be 70 years
now without the love of her life
those jewels too heavy to wear when your 93
her life lost
gone to the ages
frittered away on ceremonies no one remembers
all those matching hats and handbags
and what's to show for it
dog faced disobedient embarrassing children.
Should have spent more time instilling purpose rather than duty
as she was taught
and wears it well
even now.
God save the Queen.
It was a grave mistake.
It was a grave mistake. The crew leader glanced at the words on the paper in his work gloved hands then up at the newly excavated holes in front of him. He turned the paper up-side-down and squinted.
“What’d you guys do?”
They shrugged. “What you told us?”
An auto collision had taken the lives of a family. A young mother, loving husband and their beautiful toddler. A tragedy of winter weather reported on every local news station in the area complete with photos of the smiling family cuddling together just the day before.
“Nah, this ain’t right. The kid was supposed to be in the middle, the lady on the right and the guy on the left. You guys fucked it up.”
“Not if you stand looking this way.” The guy with the shovel scoping in dirt around the caskets suggested.
“Nah. The little one is over here and flowery casket supposed to be the one to the side and the bronze one is in the middle. It just ain’t right.”
“An hour from now we’ll have the dirt smoothed out and then once the sod goes down in a month or two...Hey, they are all together and tucked in snug. One stone...what’s the difference?” The young guy tired and cold explained, “That’s how I see it.”
The sun was setting purple in the west. The winds were picking up. More snow predicted that night. The crews’ breath freezing smokey white on their black hoodies. The heavy equipment already gone from the site. Driven back to the mintenance building hidden from view right before the interment. “They should have lined them up right at the ceremony.” The guy with the shovel mumbled still scraping and packing.
The crew leader scaned the scene. Looking north. Signs of the coming blizzard mounting. “Yeah, whatever. Get them covered up good. Pack it down tight..then let’s get back to the shed and get stuff ready. Looks like we’ve got some work ahead of us tomorrow with the other two funerals and all. Hell of a crash.”
The graves now almost covered. The men filling and tamping the ground firm. “Okay guys just get them finished up. Okay?”
No Shame
The Pacific Ocean
is a blue colored park bench.
It is The Atlantic Ocean
that is a cement mixer.
No shame,
people often
easily get them confused.